Riley Higgins

Equally at home across the outside backs, Riley Higgins is a New Zealand-born utility back on the books of the Hurricanes. Born on 10 September 2002, he offers the pace, footwork and broken-field running that Super Rugby Pacific rewards, allied to a sound positional game under the high ball and in the back-field. Higgins' versatility is among his greatest assets, giving the Wellington-based side a flexible option who can cover several positions in the back three and provide a finishing threat out wide. The Hurricanes have a long history of developing attacking backs who flourish in an expansive, ambitious style, and Higgins profiles naturally into that template as a runner who looks to inject himself into the line and exploit space at speed. Still developing in his early twenties, he brings energy as a support player and a willingness to chase, chase back and compete in the air — the unglamorous duties that complement his attacking instincts. As he gathers more top-level minutes, his adaptability and appetite for the counter-attack mark him out as the kind of multi-positional backs option that modern squads increasingly rely upon.